New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming looks to be holding the hopes of his team after day two of the first National Bank Test with Pakistan in Auckland today.

Fleming, batting under duress as New Zealand lost its first two wickets for one run, including a shattering first ball caught behind decision against returning Test batsman Matthew Bell when he never touched the ball, looked in defiant mood as New Zealand reached 65/2 at stumps.

He was 32 not out and partner Mathew Sinclair was 28 not out. If New Zealand is to take control of the Test on the long third day tomorrow, one of these two will be required to make a big contribution.

Fleming, who has been showing increasingly better touch in his batting during the One-Day diet New Zealand has had since January, looks to be ready to convert that into a long overdue three figure score here.

Normally a player whose clarity of strokeplay reflects his mood, he played three superb back foot drives, two through the covers off Waqar Younis and the third to mid wicket from leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, to suggest the potential is there for an innings of significance tomorrow.

Sinclair, by comparison, looked hesitant as the pair battled through 27 of 30 scheduled overs before play was called off, even with the ground lights on, at about 6.40pm. But Sinclair has shown before that once the mood is upon him he can attack relentlessly.

New Zealand's effort was in reply to Pakistan's 346, a total which allowed New Zealand back into the game after it had looked likely to be on the receiving of a thumping Pakistan total.

Darryl Tuffey got the day off to the perfect start.

His first ball dismissal of Younis Khan, followed by his partner in their 132-run stand Faisal Iqbal two balls later, broke the game open again after Pakistan had been entitled to feel at the end of the first day that they would be calling the shots for the rest of the match.

Tuffey provided the perfect antidote to the first day blues with the breakthrough and marked his rejuvenation as an international player, after he came home from Africa in December wearing a label that said "needs more work."

He did the work, quickly, bowled well in the domestic competition and was called up to replace the hapless Andrew Penn after the One-Day International against Sri Lanka in Wellington.

From that time he never looked back and his inclusion in the Test side was only in doubt because of the injury he sustained in the last ODI against Pakistan.

Deserving of greater reward for some outstanding bowling during the first day, he showed the value to be had from perserverance.

The only blot on his performance was some inaccurate bowling which allowed Moin Khan and Mushtaq Ahmed to put on 52 runs off 43 balls to equal Pakistan's eighth wicket record against New Zealand. But he regained his composure and had Moin caught by Adam Parore.

Parore also caught last man out, Mushtaq, for his fifth catch in the innings and it gave James Franklin his first Test wicket. Parore ended the innings four short of equalling Ian Smith's record of 176 wicket-keeping victims in Tests.

After a miserable day with the weather, New Zealand's innings started in misery with Matthew Bell's agony the most obvious.

His start to his Test career is starting to rival that of Ken Rutherford, who suffered a tough entry to international play in the West Indies in 1985.

Bell was given out to the first ball he faced, from Waqar Younis, caught behind, but television evidence showed he was caught off his pad. It was a gut-wrenching moment for Bell.

Making his departure worse was the next over dismissal of Mark Richardson when Mohammad Sami claimed his first wicket in Tests, as Richardson clamped down on a yorker which cannoned into his wickets.

However, New Zealand has a chance with the weather expected to improve today to set itself up for a significant first innings lead.

© CricInfo